ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Hank Bachmeier bounced back after he was benched a week earlier, throwing three touchdown passes to lead Boise State to a 31-14 victory over New Mexico on Friday night.
Latrell Caples caught two of those scores for Boise State (1-1, 1-0 Mountain West).
Ashton Jeanty and George Holani combined for 139 yards on 32 carries for the Broncos.
The Boise State defense held the Lobos (1-1, 0-1) to 123 total yards, with more than half of that coming on Geordon Porter’s 69-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Through three quarters, New Mexico had 48 total yards.
The Broncos led 10-0 at halftime before scoring three touchdowns in the second half, including one on a blocked punt.
New Mexico’s other fourth-quarter score came on Christian Washington’s 100-yard kickoff return.
PUNT THAT STAT
Deven Wright’s blocked punt recovery for a score in the third quarter marked the third time in two years that the Broncos have done so against New Mexico.
The Lobos have not blocked a punt in nearly 13 years, the longest streak in the FBS.
THE TAKEAWAY
Boise State: New Mexico showed up on the schedule at the right time. Smarting after a season-opening 34-17 loss at Oregon State, Boise State beat the Lobos for the 12th time in 13 meetings.
New Mexico: The game marked some progress from the Lobos’ previous three outings, which they lost by an average score of 41-8.
UP NEXT
Boise State has its home opener Sept. 17 against UT Martin. This is the first season the Broncos opened a season with consecutive road games since 2011.
New Mexico has a third straight home game, with UTEP coming in Sept. 17 before a trip to LSU the following week.
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF